TRE BIRDS OF PREY OF THE PUNJAB. 



299 



Measurements. 



Habits, etc. 



and lores white tinged with yellow ; tail, rump and 

 upper tail coverts, like the head, ashy grey. A black 

 subterminal band to the tail and narrow" white tips. 

 The remainder of the upper plumage is a deep brick- 

 red with black triangular spots on back and sca- 

 pulars which vary in intensity and numbers v/ith diff- 

 erent individuals. Quills dark brown towards the tips 

 and nearly white at the base, with whitish bars. The 

 under parts generally buff or pale rufous with long 

 Unes and streaks on the breast which pass into spots 

 on the lower breast and flanks, except the lower abdo- 

 men which is unspotted ; the under side of tlie tail is 

 whitish, as also the wing lining, with dark spots. 



Females are more dingy above, being some shade 

 of rufous, throughout ; the head feathers are streaked 

 with dark brown shaft-stripes and the rest of the upper 

 parts with black or blackish bars. The under parts 

 are paler than the back and spotted with black as in 

 the males. 



The young are somewhat similar to the females, 

 but the tail may assume its grey tinge before the head 

 in the j'oung male. 



" Bill bluish black ; gape, cere and eyelids yellow ; 

 irides brown : legs orange vellow, claws black." (Blan- 

 ford). 



N.B. — T. cenchris the Lesser Kestrel, has 

 whitish or pale horny claws, but specimens of T. 

 alaudarius also occasionallj- are met with, with light 

 coloured claws. 



Length about 14" ; expanse 2-|' : tail 6|- to 7" ; 

 wing 9-J- ; tarsus 1-J- ; mid-toe 1 ; bill from gape • 85. 

 Not much difference between the sexes. 



The Kestrel, or Windhover, is a familiar feature of 

 the landscape from the grassy slopes of the Himalayas 

 to the plains of India, though locally migratory ^\-ith 

 the seasons. It is not often found m dense forests, 

 though one may occasionally be seen hovering over 

 a glade in the midst of a dense jungle. 



This beautiful httle hawk is very often most confid- 

 ing and will permit one to sit down within a few paces 

 of its perch and watch it searchuig for its prey. Like 

 the Merlin, the head is always bobbing up and down, 

 as it focusses its eyes on to some tiny tuft of grass or 

 on some movement. Silently and slowly it will leave 

 its perch and fly down with half bent wings until with- 

 in a couple of feet of the object of its attack, when it 

 will suddenly put on a spurt and fairly dash on to the 

 ground. Its movements depend on the nature of its 

 quarry. Sometimes a Kestrel will be seen droppmg 

 from the skies at a terrific pace with no attempt to 

 check its stoop until it apparently actuaUy hits the 

 ground, whereas a few minutes later the same bird 

 will be seen to come down very gently, with extended 

 wings and alight with the utmost caution. A grass 

 hopper crawling up a blade of grass, or along the 



